I purchased my very first Cub Cadet in February of 2010. It was in sad shape, and had literally been run into the ground. I originally wanted to just get the thing up and running and just go from there. Well, it didn’t take long before those plans went right out the window. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I had this poor thing tore down to the chassis with the engine in the machinist’s shop for full rebuild.

During my rebuilding process I discovered some things about this model Cub Cadet I didn’t like. Namely, the existing gas shutoff was behind the noise reduction covers. This design made it darn near impossible for me to contort my fingers in any kind of shape, fashion or form to either turn on the gas or shut it off without removing the left side noise reduction cover. So, I decided to make something to take care of that problem. I originally thought about a rock shaft type of lever to accomplish this task. But after making my first bracket to capture the on/off gas valve, I soon learned there was so little room for this method I had to come up with something else. However, the captive gas valve bracket was a good idea to start with, so I sat down and drew up a new design and then started to cut it out from the metal pieces.

I also decided to use a spare choke cable arrangement to avoid the hassles of space limitations. This would be a push/pull arrangement in as direct a line with the gas shut off valve. So, without further delay, on we go with the project.

Pic 01 & 02 show an “L” bracket I made to hold the choke cable in place towards the operator on the left side of the tower.

The choke cable/gas shut off bracket measures about 1 ½” by ¾”. It is drilled for the cable to pass through with a 3/8” dill bit, and about a 7/16” or ½” drill bit on the side. It is mounted in the factory pre made hole at the top of the tower. That hole is about ½” in diameter and was originally used on other models of the Cub Cadets for Hydraulic levers, etc. Mine weren’t being used, and since it was in perfect position for my project, it became a mounting point. I drilled a hole in the “L” bracket to mount it, then eyeballed where the choke cable would go through shown in pic 03.

This hole is seen in pics 04-05.

Pic 06-08 show the “L” bracket and the first captive gas shut off bracket I made.

This “L” bracket measured about 2 ¼” X 1 ¾”. The flat piece for the top was about 1 ½” long. It also shows where I’ve laid the choke cable in line for taking measurements. The “L” bracket was mounted on the large side bracket that fastened to the tower and held the gas tank in place. There are two holes I drilled into it and used 5/16” bolts, lock washers and nuts to fasten it. I drilled two holes for the top flat piece to hold the choke cable bracket in place once I was ready for that part. Pic 09-11 show a groove I cut into the “L” bracket to help grab the choke cable with and hold it better.

This “L” bracket was made from 1 ½” wide X ¼” thick flat steel stock. It was something I had left over from another project.

Pics 07-011 show the different stages from the first attempt for this project to the passing on to the new design.

Pic 012 & 013 show the beginning of the cutting out of the new captive bracket for the gas shutoff.

I first placed the flat steel stock just above the top of the button for the gas shut off. I then eye-balled it and made a mark. I measured to the center of the bar, and drilled a hole with a 3/8” drill bit. I then marked as straight as I could with a sharpie the edges of the drilled hole to the end of the flat stock. I cut this out with a jig saw using a metal cutting bit. After this, I filed and used a dremel tool with a stone to get the edges nice and polished up with no cutting edges. Flat stock steel of 1 ½” wide and 1/8” thick was used here.

Pic 014 shows the other “L” bracket that is the back side of the captive gas shut off.

I drilled a hole about ¼” for the barrel lock to be mounted on. Here we see the two paired up before painting. I also drilled three holes for screws, lock washers and nuts in a triangular fashion for matching the captive gas shut off valve bracket. Notice one is at the top, and two of them are at the bottoms at the edges. This allowed for equal pressure on three points and kept things neat and out of the way. The nuts aren't shown in the photos, but were added once It was installed on the tractor. This “L” bracket measures about 2 “ long, with a shelf for the “L” at about ¾” long. The bracket backing that has the “U” cut into it is about 2” long.

Pics 015 – 018 shows the finished captive gas shut off bracket.

The barrel lock is in place along with screws for tightening the brackets around the gas shut off button. The barrel lock I used is a Kohler part. That part number is: 48 755 10-S and I purchased them through C&G. They are hard to find, and are expensive. I also found another substitute at Lowes, but you have to drill out one end, then the hole for the choke cable to pass through. You also have to buy another screw to finish up with the homemade barrel lock. Price was much lower than the Kohlers though. Kohlers were about $9.50 each, whereas the Lowes were about $.88 ea plus a little extra for the extra screw. Lowe’s part number 137874/Hillman number 88079. This is a 3/8” post.

Pics 019 and 020 show the gas shut off bracket in place and the choke cable in place with the top flat piece tightened down.

Before I ran the choke cable through its mounting bracket and into the barrel lock, I laid it back in place and marked the proper length with a sharpie. I used a cut off tool to cut the outer bound wire and insulation to proper length. Note: Pull the choke cable back far enough in the sheath to avoid cutting it at this time. Now, place the proper cut cable sheath on the “L” bracket, and run the choke cable forward to get a measurement to go into the barrel lock. Mark it with a sharpie. Again, use the cutoff tool to cut the cable to length. I ended up saving the extra single piece of choke cable to be used on another project down the line.

Pic 021 shows the cable being routed behind the left side noise isolation cover.

Pics 022 & 023 show the choke cable (now labeled the gas shut off) in the out/gas open position. Just pull out to open the gas, and push in to shut off gas flow.

Pics 024 & 025. Show the finished product routed behind the left side noise isolation cover.

You can use 1 ½” wide X ¼” thick flat steel stock for all the brackets if you wish. I just used what I had on hand when I was working with this.

Yes, this does take some time to fabricate. But, once this is done, the amount of time saved from not having to take the noise isolation cover off to turn on the gas or shut it off will off set those headaches considerably. Should the choke cable ever break, it is easily replaceable just like the other parts.

I’ve used this setup many times over the past month or so, and I’m so glad I made this mod to my Cub Cadet.

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